Anna Karenina · Chapter
Chapter XVII explained
Stepan Arkadyevitch (Stiva) is in Petersburg, his finances in dire straits.
What happens
Stepan Arkadyevitch (Stiva) is in Petersburg, his finances in dire straits. He is pursuing a lucrative new appointment as secretary of a railway and banking committee, a position requiring connections and perceived 'honesty' in the Moscow sense. The chapter details his humiliating wait at the Jew Volgarinov's office and his subsequent meeting with Karenin, where he listens to Karenin's political report before awkwardly asking him to use his influence to secure the post, revealing his financial motives.
Themes in this chapter
Hypocrisy and Social Pretense
Stiva's concept of 'honest' for the new appointment is a Moscow-specific term meaning independently opposed to authorities, which he uses to justify his suitability while blatantly seeking the job for its high salary through personal connections.
Social Conventions vs. Individual Desire
Stiva's internal conflict: he feels shame for waiting on a Jew and for deviating from his ancestors' path of government service, yet his personal financial desires push him to pursue this new, commercially-linked career.
Characters to notice
- Stepan Arkadyevitch Oblonsky
Desperately seeking a new, well-paid government appointment to solve his financial troubles. Feels humiliation and discomfort waiting for the Jewish financier Volgarinov, conflicted about his family's traditional service role. He manipulates the conversation with Karenin to ask for a favor.
- Alexey Alexandrovitch Karenin
Focused on his political report and economic principles, advocating for reforms based on rational economic laws rather than personal interest. He is skeptical of Stiva's desired high-salary position, seeing it as contrary to sound finance, but is ultimately asked to intervene.
- Darya Alexandrovna Oblonskaya
Mentioned as having refused to sign over her property rights to the remaining third of the forest, contributing to Stiva's financial crisis and forcing him to seek new income.
Key passages
“Stepan Arkadyevitch believed most positively that the committee... was a new, genuine, and honest public body, but that morning when Volgarinov had—intentionally, beyond a doubt—kept him two hours waiting... he had suddenly felt uneasy.”
Despite his intellectual justification for the new job, Stiva's prolonged wait at the financier's office triggers deep social and personal discomfort.
Highlights the clash between Stiva's modern ambitions and his ingrained aristocratic sensibilities.
“"I consider that a salary is the price paid for a commodity, and it ought to conform with the law of supply and demand... I conclude that the salary is not fixed in accordance with the law... but simply through personal interest."”
Karenin argues that exorbitant government salaries are economically irrational and are granted through cronyism, not merit.
Shows Karenin's rigid, principled worldview, which is immediately challenged by Stiva's practical, self-interested request.
“Stepan Arkadyevitch reddened at the mention of that name, because he had been that morning at the Jew Volgarinov’s, and the visit had left an unpleasant recollection.”
Mentioning Volgarinov makes Stiva blush, recalling the humiliation of his morning visit.
Directly connects Stiva's emotional state to his perceived social degradation.